Very unusual Mal

[3fLiEr 0]

One mal this weekend at my DZ - a total..... the guy was safe got under his reserve by 2K - went found the freebag and canopy which was still in the bag - The guy had borrowed the kit off his mate - on inspection it became apparent that the pilot chute had a bungy around it (as in folded to go in the spandex and then a large tight bungy put around the middle - thus the pilot chute never inflated!............ my question is - why the phuq would anyone want to do this???........ one explaination is "to save the spandex during long periods - pull the pilot chute and tie with a bungy" - but thats sounds a bit tight! - anyone else heard of why you would want to do this?!?!?!
BSBD

[skreamer 1]

So the PC had a bungy around it, but still had enough drag to pull the pin? Were the lines unstowed? PM the lender's name so I can know for future reference! Also, please PM me the usual sordid update of goings-on (no chimpanzees just yet, I trust).
/s

[Donna 0]

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by bungee but if you are talking like an elastic tied around it I know I was told to do that when I was practicing for my first throw out (vs ripcord) deployment. I folded my pc and then put an elastic around it so every time I practiced throwing it I wouldn't have to fold it back up again. Of course I was specifically warned to never leave it like that! Glad the guy was ok!!
Skies,
D

[3fLiEr 0]

Nah no chimpanzees this weekend !
Yeah it pulled the pin and the first stow but that was it........ man the look on his face when he saw why it mal'd - scarey shit!
Yeah I supose you could do that whilst practising throw outs - but it was an experienced jumpers rig................ unless he was teaching his pet monkey to pitch!
BSBD

[AggieDave 6]

Maybe the guy is just a dumbass? It can happen, I run into them all the time (not always skydivers, though)...
AggieDave '02
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Blue Skies and Gig'em Ags!
BTHO t.u.

[freeflir29 0]

"Maybe the guy is just a dumbass?"
Yeah....what Dave said!
"There once was a man named Enis....."-Krusty the Clown
Clay

[Grogs 0]

I've never heard of doing this, and I have a hard time seeing it make much difference on the life-span of the spandex. I think extracting the pilot chute puts most of the wear and tear on the pocket, not holding the pilot chute in a little roll. If you're really dead-set on doing something like that though, you would want a really long piece of red cloth/tape sticking out of the pilot chute to make sure you remember (like the riggers use for temporary packing pins).
Actually, along the same lines, when I got my new(er) container, it didn't have a main in it, so I put some bubble wrap in the D-bag, tucked the risers in, cocked the pc, and closed it all up. Scary thing was that even doing a thorough gear check it looked ready to jump. I just can't help but get the image of some guy throwing out and the bag/pc go floating off into space. In any case, I just set it up like that for a day until I could take it to my rigger to get the real main put in it.

Quote

man the look on his face when he saw why it mal'd - scarey shit!

No doubt. If that were me, I'd probably be sitting there thinking "hmm... do I use the knife or the gun to kill him?"

[rgoper 0]

as with ALL mals, we must go back to the "root cause" after investigation is done, so we can learn from it. i know of too many sky divers that have been either injured or killed jumping borrowed equipment. if you must jump borrowed equipment, do youself a favor, unpack the thing, prior to jumping it to see what's inside for yourself! beats the hell out of the alternative, and it take 20 mins. tops!
Blue Skies:
Richard
Gravity Is My Friend